Tinsel winding machine



Dec. 22, 1931. H. H. BENEZE 1,837,752

TINS'EL WINDING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 gmmto o Dec. 22, 1931. H. H. JBENEZE 1,337,753

TINSEL WINDING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1950 2 shee s-sheet 2 Qwomliw EBeizeze Patented Dec. 22, 1931 Umrn STATES PATENT. OFFICE HENRY ELBENEZE, OEBALTIMORE, MA-n LANnQAssIeNOn'To THE enonenrRANKE soNsooMrANY, or BALTIMORE, MAnYLANn, A oonPonA'rIoN or MARYLAND rrnsnn WINDING MACHINE Application filed April 26,

This invention pertains to tinsel winding machines and more particularlyto that type designed to wind what are known in the trade as tinsel icicles.

The main object Ofthe present invention has to do with an improved means for grasping and holding the end of the strand of tinsel prior to the beginning of the winding operation thereof about a' forming mandrel.

A still further object of the' invention resides in the provision of means whereby the grasping means just mentioned may be expeditiously operated both in. the gripping or grasping operation as well as in the release of the tinsel ;-a feature which materially speeds up production. i i

With these and other objects and advantages in view, as will hereinafter appear, ref- 7, erence is bad to the "annexed drawings,i wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine with the table broken away, the oper ating foot pedals Omitted and with a portion of the icicle wound about the mandrel, Figure 2 is a side elevation of the machine with a portion of the mandrel supports broken away and the mandrel advanced to that position where the free end of the tinsel may be placed upon the mandrel so that it will be clamped when the mandrel is retracted, I a

Figure 3 a like view with the mandrel retracted and the tinsel wound about the full length of the mandrel, Figure 4a transverse sectional view taken on the line IV.IV. of'higure 3, and illustrative ofthe driving mechanism,

Figure 5 a like view taken on the line VV of Figure 2 showing the guiding mechanism for the tinsel as it passes, onto the mandrel and likewise the feed screw and guiding mechanism supporting'arm, and

Figure 6 a perspective view of one of the tinsel icicles. r v I i In thejdrawings 1 denotes a table or suitable support and Q the bed or base of the machine from which latter there extend upwardly two standard or frame members 3 and 4. 7 Mounted for rotation in theupper portion 1930 Serial No. 447,563.

of standard 4 is a sleeve 5, the same being held in place by a'lockcollar 6 mounted onthe rearwardly extending portion thereof, a washer 7 preferably being placed between said collar and the standard. i v Extending through the collar, and also through a bearing in standard 3, is a shaft 8 which at its: left hand end in the mechanism as shown is, formed into a taper mandrel 9 polyg'- onal in cross section. It will be appreciated, ofucourse, that the mandrel proper could be made; separate'and fixed to the end ofthe shaft; Also secured to shaft 8 inward of the standard 3 is a gear 10 and interposed between said gear and collar 6 isa" coiled springjl'l normally under compression and tending 'at alltimes to retract or move shaft. 8 .to'the right. A wheel 12 is I signed to contact a driving wheel 13 when the. latter is moved into contact therewith. V Said wheel 13- is secured to the shaft of an electric motor 14, which latter is so mounted on the, table that it may be rocked to bring the wheels into Operative contact. f flAs will be seen upon reference to Figure 4, the 'rear'portion of the motor base overhangs the edge of the table 1 and underlying such V portion (the rear legs of the base) is a shaft l'5extending lengthwise of the tableand supported for rotation in any suitable manner. Secured to the shaft and underlying the motor base are blocks, as 16 which,'when' the shaft is turned clockwise, lift the motor. Shaft 15 maybe actuated in any suitable manner but preferably by a pedal (not shown) connected toa draw-link 17 whichin' turn is pivotally connected to a crank-likeportion 18 of shaft 15. This arrangement provides means whereby the operator has secured to shaft and is do complete control of the driving mechanism to start and stop the same.

In order that the motor may be rocked' or tipped to bring driving wheel 13into contact with the wheel 12 the inner portion or legs of the motor base are held to table 1 by screws 19 which pass through enlarged openlngs 20 A spring 21' encircles each screw and takes against the under face of the head and against 1 a washer 22 which rests upon the upper sur point adjacent the end of element 18.

face of the motor leg. This arrangement allows the motor to be-rocked for the purpose above described. I

It is designed,of course, to feed the tinsel lengthwise of the mandrel as the latter is rotated andvafter the free end of the tinsel has been clamped in place with reference to the mandrel.

The clamping and feeding mechanism will now. be described. I

Shaft 8'is movable endwise through the. bearing, in standard 3 and sleeve Said sleeve is keyed to the shaft, the key being deretracted, forms a clamp for the free end of the tinsel which is to be wound about the mandrel 9 upon rotation thereof. l j

8 With a view of moving the shaft endwise so that the groove 24 will stand outward of thesleeve in order that the end of thetinsel may be inserted in the groove I may employ any suitable mechanism. In the instant case the shaft 8 at its rear or right hand end is formedwitha socket 25 into which extendsa screw 26 adiustably mounted in the upper end 1 of a lever 27 fulcrumed at 28 upon a suitable fixed supporter element as 29. v

Rigidly affixed to lever 27' is an armor second lever 30 which, as shown in Figure 1, ex-

tends over the edge of the table 1 andat a draw-link 31 is pivotally connected to the end of said lever 30 and a pedal, (not shown),is connected thereto for'drawing the link 31 V downwardly andfroc king lever 27 through lever 30 with a consequent endwise movement of shaft .8 and compression of spring 11.

. By arranging the draw rods 17 and 31 adjacent each other the operator will have ready control of the machine through depression of the pedals attachedto the rods just mentioned. e

When the pedal controlling the draw link 31 is released spring 11 will immediately retract the shaft and mandrel and grasp the end of the tinsel which has been introduced into the groove 24. The tinsel is relatively 7 are in their retracted position, as shown in Figure 3. This arrangement permits of the ready insertion of the free end of the tinsel uponthe mandrel.

in the groove and the clamping of the tinsel by retraction of the shaft.

Pinion 10, whichv is secured to shaft 8, meshes with anidler 34 mounted upon a stub shaft, the gears being of such width as to always be in mesh whatever may be the position of the shaft 8. Idler 34 meshes with a gear 35 secured upon a shaft 36, the outer or forward end of which is provided with a screw thread as at'37'. The screw is-designed to cooperate with the tinsel feeding and advancing means, best shown in Figures 1 and 5.

Extending from the standard4 are two fixed rods 38 and 39 which at their outer ends have secured thereto a plate 40 carrying an adjustablethrow-off arm 41. The rod 38 forms the support for the tinsel feeding mechanism. Such mechanism. may be said to comprise an inverted L-shaped member 42 provided with elongated bearing sleeves 43 and 43? through which, and through the member 42, the rod 38 freely extends. In other words, the member 42'is pivoted for swinging motion upon the rod 38 toward and from the feedscrew 37 Adj acent the screw 37 the member 42 is provided with threads complemental to the threads'37 anddesigned, whenthe parts are in engagement, to advance the member 42-toward, the end of the mandrel 9. The tinsel,

denoted by T, passes about and over a grooved wheel 44 and over a fixed finger 45 secured to the upper end of the member 42 with its forward endextending laterally and over which the tinsel passes just prior to its being wound To hold the tinsel within; the grooved wheel 44 and to smooth it out there is present a pivoted block 46 normally held in contact at its forward end with the tinsel within the groove by a spring 47 secured to themember'42. This member maybe held in its upright position by merely turning it upon its pivot when it is desired to'thread the tin sel over the wheel 44.

The tinsel T will preferably pass through a tension element 48 of any approved type, said tension member being mounted upon the outer end of an arm 49 which at its inner end'is secured to the member ,42iand moves therewith. Preferably the tinsel will be taken from a spool, as .50, mounted in any suitable support upon the table 1 and any tension mechanism, as 51, may be employed to prevent the spool from unwinding too rapidlyor from unwinding through possible breakage of the tinsel. v In operation the tinsel is drawnfrom the spool through the tension device'48 about and over the wheel 44 after which the block 46 lSD'lOVBd to itslowest position, as in Figure 5, and the free end of the tinsel is inserted in the groove 24, the shaft 8 and the mandrel 9 at such time being moved forward 7 spring 11 draws the parts back to the position shown in Figure 3 at which time the end of the tinsel will be clamped and firmly held in position. The operator then draws down upon the link 17 which rocks the motor, as above set forth, and brings the wheel 13 into driving relation with the wheel 12. Motion.

is thus imparted to the shaft 8 and mandrel 9. Motion is also imparted to the shaft 36 and the screw 37 with the consequence that the feed and guide member 42 is moved longitudinally of the mandrel toward the outer end thereof winding the tinsel tightly about the mandrel so that when it is released or removed from the mandrel it will maintain the form shown in Figure 6. The feed screw extends beyond the end of the mandrel and as a consequence the tinsel guiding mechanism or element 42 passes beyond the end of the mandrel and upon continued rotation of the shaft 8 the tinsel will be broken ofi at the outer end of the mandrel. At, or-just after, this breaking operation the member 41 will contact the beveled face 52 formed upon the lower end of the member 42 and thus swing the member 42 so as to withdraw the threads formed thereon from the screw 37 This operation is not essential as the operator may, of course, withdraw the member 42 from engagement with the screw 37 through manual operation. Rotation of the shaft 8 is then stopped and the shaft .8 moved outwardly releasing the clamped end of the tinsel at which time the completed tinsel icicle may be removed from the mandrel. It of course has a slight tendency to expand and thus'there is no difficulty with reference to its removal from the mandrel. After a completed icicle has been withdrawn the operator swings the member 42 rearwardly to free it from engagement with the screw 37 and moves it toward the standard 4. The free end of the tinsel, which at that time extends beyond the member 46, may be inserted into the groove 24 when'the shaft is again moved outwardly as above stated.

What is claimed is: v

1. In a tinsel winding machine, the combination of a shaft; a bearing sleeve through which the shaft extends and is endwise movable and with which itis likewise rotatable; a mandrel extending outwardly from the shaft and the sleeve; and means carried by the shaft cooperative with the sleeve, to clamp the end of the tinsel to be wound about the mandrel.

2. In amachine for winding tinsel, the

combination of a shaft mounted for endwisereciprocating movement; a sleeve through which said shaft extends: means securing the sleeve and shaft together to secure s1multaneous rotation'of said parts while permitting the shaft to be moved through the sleeve; clamping means associated with the shaft and sleeve; a mandrel carried by'the shaft and extending outwardly of the sleeve; means for rotating the shaft; and means for feeding tinsel to the mandrel.

3. In a tinsel winding machine, the com bination of a mandrel; a shaft for rotating the same; a clamp for'the end ofthe tinsel, said clamp'being independent of the mandrel and rendered effective by a longitudinal movement of the shaft; means for moving the shaft longitudinally; and means for rotating the shaft. 7 l

4. In aftinsel winding machine, the combination of a mandrel; a shaft forrotating the 7 same; a clamp for the end of the tinsel rendered, effective by a longitudinal movement of the shaft; means for moving the shaft lon- 'gitudinally; means for rotating the shaft; and means movable lengthwise of the mandrel for presenting the tinsel to the mandrel as.

the latter is rotated.

5. In a tinsel winding machine, the combination of a tapered mandrel, polygonal in crosssect ion; a shaft for rotating the same;- a clamp for the end of the tinsel to be wound, said clamp being rendered effective by alongitudinal movement ofthe shaft; means for rotating the shaft; means for presenting the tinsel to the mandrel as the latter is rotated; and means for traversing the tinsel presenting means lengthwise of the mandrel and in timed relation to the rotation of the mandrel.

6. In a machinefor winding tinsel, the combination of a shaft mounted'forendwisereciprocating movement; a sleeve through which said shaft extends; means securing the sleeve and shaft together to permit simultaneous rotation of said parts while permitting. the shaft to be moved endwise; a mandrel extending outwardly from the shaft; and a groove formed about the shaft adjacent the mandrel, said groove being normally housed within the outer end of the sleeve, the outer wall of said groove forming with the sleeve,

- when the groove is housed, a clamp for the r free end of the tinsel.

7. In a'machine for winding tinsel, the combination of a base; a pair ofstandards extending upwardly therefrom; a sleeve mounted for rotation in one of said standards; a shaft extending through said sleeve and the.

other standard; a key interposed'between the sleeve and shaft, one ofthe seats for said key being elongated whereby the shaft and sleeve are locked to ether for rotation while ermittinglongitudinal movement of the shaft;

a mandrel extending from the outer end of the shaft; means for normally drawing said' shaft rearwardly; means carried by the shaft and coacting with the sleeve to clamp the free end of the tinsel to be wound; means under the control'ot the operator for projecting the shaft forwardly; means, likewise' under the control of the, operator, for rotating the shaft; and means for presenting tinsel to the mandrel as the latter is rotated.

8. "In a, tinsel Winding machine, the combination of a mandrel; a shaft for rotating the same; a clamp for the end of the tinsel;

means for rotating the shaft; and means mov able lengthwise oi the mandrel and beyond 7 the end thereof forpresenting tinsel to the v mandrel as the latteris rotated, whereby When the tinsel presenting means passes beyond the end of the mandrel'the tinsel Will be twisted off as "the mandrel continues its rotation. o

In testimony WhereOfjI haVe signed my name to this specification.

HENRY BENEZE.

has 

